Denzel Washington has starred in some of the most successful and recognized films of his generation, and his talent has certainly not gone unnoticed by critics or his fellow Academy members. The Hollywood star has been nominated for an Oscar ten times throughout his career, earning two wins in 1990 and 2002. Denzel Washington has played action heroes, twisted villains and everything in between, but the common factor is that his characters are always exciting. to look at.
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While the actor has only won twice, the Academy has proven time and time again that he is one of the strongest candidates in the field. It’s almost impossible not to nominate Denzel when he gives a great performance, and that has resulted in a lot of praise to his name. Denzel Washington has nine Oscar-nominated roles, all completely different from each other and exemplary in their own way. However, only seven of these nine made it to the Best Actor category.
7 Malcolm X
Released in 1992
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Washington played the title character in Spike Lee’s Malcolm Xthe civil rights activist best known for promoting the welfare of African Americans in the 1960s before his untimely assassination. The film chronicles Malcolm’s life and explores what led him to become the celebrity he eventually became.
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Malcolm X It is one of Washington’s most emotional and developed roles, as the film takes place throughout much of the figure’s life. He perfectly captures Malcolm’s wavering mindset at different times, letting the audience into his mind and expertly navigating the complexities of his character.
6 The Hurricane
Released in 1999
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The hurricane is another gripping drama that shows Denzel at his most intimate and vulnerable as he takes on the complex role of Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter, a professional boxer facing three life sentences for murder. Carter is without a doubt one of Denzel Washington’s best roles, not only because the truth of his character is always kept secret from the audience, but also thanks to his intense physicality.
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Washington does not shy away from the fact that Carter was an extremely talented boxer, integrating this physical training into his performance and truly capturing the athlete’s agility and skill. It must have been a very draining role, both physically and mentally, but Washington pulls it off with ease.
5 day of training
Launched in 2001
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One of two films for which Denzel won his Best Actor award. training day It is widely considered to rank highly among the best. The film tells the story of a Los Angeles cop who takes a young recruit under his wing, but their dynamic becomes complicated when the recruit becomes suspicious of his mentor’s training methods.
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There are very few co-stars that Denzel No They have great chemistry, but Ethan Hawke might be the best example to date. The pair bounce off each other’s performances effortlessly, creating such a dynamic energy between them that’s half the reason. training day It works as well as it does.
4 Flight
Released in 2013
More than a decade after his previous nomination, Washington returned to the Oscars thanks to his monumental turn in Flight. The film follows a pilot named Whip who diverts a plane during an emergency, lands it safely, and becomes an overnight hero. But the captain’s life is turned upside down when it is discovered that he was drunk during the procedure, potentially putting the lives of everyone else at risk.
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Top 10 Related Denzel Washington Thrillers
With a career as vast and varied as Denzel Washington’s, it’s no surprise that this two-time Oscar winner has many incredible thrillers.
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Flight is one of Denzel’s most rewatchable films, simply because there is so much nuance and detail in his performance. Whip is neither a hero nor a villain, but rather a fundamentally flawed character who likes to believe that he is neither. It’s the perfect kind of enigmatic, morally complex role that Washington was born to play, and it felt like a comforting return to form after a series of somewhat disappointing projects.
3 fences
Released in 2017
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In fact, Washington received two nominations for fences: one for his amazing lead performance and another for producing the film as a result of its Best Picture nomination. The film is a film adaptation of August Wilson’s play, which follows the life of a man’s family whose lives are ruined by the main character’s spite and anger toward the society he believes failed him.
Washington’s performance in fences He is everything the audience expects from the actor: emotional, heartbreaking, funny, terrifying and despicable all at the same time, but he manages to combine all these emotions and traits without a second thought. Denzel’s villain roles are always fun, and while this isn’t strictly true here, he is one of his most unethical leads.
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2 Romano J. Israel, Esq.
Released in 2018
In Romano J. Israel, Denzel Washington plays the title character alongside Colin Farrell and Lynda Gravatt. It is the story of a controversial lawyer who faces conflicts in the workplace as a result of his unconventional methods, but is forced to put them aside and work by the rules when he is hired by Farrell’s ruthless lawyer.
While the film is certainly dark and gritty at points, Romano J. Israel, Esq is one of Washington’s funniest and most light-hearted roles in recent years. He’s been given the opportunity to delve into this character’s quirks and idiosyncrasies, something he doesn’t always get to do with his more serious roles.
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1 The Tragedy of Macbeth
Released in 2022
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The tragedy of Macbeth sees Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand tackle two of the most interesting and complex characters in the entire Shakespeare catalogue. They bring to these roles all the wit, grandeur and intelligence necessary to capitalize on Shakespeare’s incomparable dialogue, and Joel Coen’s stunning direction makes each frame rich in subtextual meaning.
The tragedy of Macbeth is one of the best Shakespearean film adaptations, taking all the themes and ideas of the original play and letting them fly in the character’s actions and words. The detailed cinematography and purposeful set design recall Shakespeare’s performance values, and neither Denzel Washington nor McDormand are strangers to the delivery of his unique prose.
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